Toby, a frugal
tree surgeon (arborist), shops
at a garage sale.
He barters the price
of an original The
Champ George Foreman Grill.
Never been used, still
in the box. Price tags displays
12. Toby disputes.
This version doesn’t
have a bun warmer, therefore
value is much less.
Toby bids 10 bucks.
Counter offer accepted.
Two whole dollars saved!
Lucy, canvasses
garage sales for dates. She hears
the grill transaction.
And is excited
by Toby’s superior
negotiation.
She invites him to
her place for sandwiches. Her
signature come-on.
Toby loves a good
sandwich and is further charmed
by Lucy’s address.
She lives in an old
neighborhood notorious
for aged, unique trees.
Legend has it that
frontiersman would mark the trees
with warning signals.
Toby studied the
formations for years. His tree
nerd mode is full-on.
Lucy heads home to
get ready while Toby wraps
up garage sale-ing.
Walking with The Champ,
he observes the timber that
lines Lucy’s sidewalk.
Then, stops dead in his
tracks. He sees a bent tree in
front of Lucy’s house.
The frontiersmen bent
trees as a warning signal
for evil, cursed land.
He gets the hell out
of there, abandoning The
Champ George Foreman grill.
Eating sandwiches
alone, Lucy resigns to
find a new lunch date.
She heads out to prowl
the garage sales but finds the
bun warmer-less grill.
She recognizes
it as Toby’s. She’s worried
about his safety.
Was he kidnapped? Why
did he abandon the lean,
mean grilling machine?
Lucy stalks Toby
all week, only to find him
in tree surgery.
He explains and they
understand the need for her
to move to new grounds.
And destroy the grill.
(To protect environment,
they recycle it.)
Toby builds her a
new home made from reclaimed wood,
on safe property.
Toby splurges and
buys George Forman grill with bun
warmer for Lucy.
He had a 20
percent off discount code at
Bed Bath & Beyond.
Garage sales behind
them, they now eat sandwiches
in full arbor bliss.
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